Genetic biasing in language and speech -

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About this research programme

Some aspects of language and speech might be under the influence of genetic biases. Such biases, while weak at the individual level, are nevertheless able to affect language change through the repeated cultural transmission of language across generations of genetically biased speakers.This process could help explain some patterns of linguistic diversity (when populations differ in their genetic makeup), while also generating universal tendencies (when the biases are shared across the entire species).